Light emitting diode (LED) lighting systems are becoming more prevalent as replacements for existing lighting systems. LEDs are an example of solid state lighting and have advantages over traditional lighting solutions such as incandescent and fluorescent lighting because they use less energy, are more durable, operate longer, can be combined in multi-color arrays that can be controlled to deliver virtually any color light, and contain no lead or mercury.
In many applications, one or more LED dies (or chips) are mounted within an LED package or on an LED module, which may make up part of a lighting system, a light fixture, lighting unit, lamp, “light bulb” or more simply a “bulb,” which includes one or more power supplies to power the LEDs. An LED fixture may be made in the form of a fixture to be used in place of or instead of a standard incandescent or fluorescent fixture.
Rigid or semi-rigid materials may be included in a fixture as optical elements, reflectors, support structures and housings external to the LED modules themselves. Typically, a combination of mechanical components is used to complete a fixture assembly. This combination may include a mechanical housing for the electronics, a mechanical housing for the entire fixture, a heatsink, a mounting surface for the LED modules, and lenses or diffusers to provide shape, direction, and/or color mixing for the light emitted from the fixture.